Low cost carrier Norwegian Air says it is now the proud record holder of the fastest ever transatlantic air journey by a conventional passenger aircraft.
Thanks to super strong tailwinds, Norwegian flight DY7014 from New York JFK to London Gatwick completed its journey in just 5 hours and 13 minutes, the fastest transatlantic flight recorded on a subsonic commercial jet.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was carrying 284 passengers and arrived 54 minutes ahead of schedule last week.
The airline said strong tailwinds of up to 202 mph over the Atlantic Ocean help push top speed to 776mph.
"The 787 Dreamliner is a pleasure to fly and it’s a great feeling to know that we have set a new record in this aircraft. We were actually in the air for just over five hours and if it had not been for forecasted turbulence at lower altitude, we could have flown even faster," said Norwegian Air Captain Harold van Dam.
It is not the fastest ever subsonic flight over the Atlantic – a British Royal Air Force Vickers Super VC-10 did it in in 5 hours and 1 minute nearly forty years ago – but is for a commercial aircraft.
At twice the speed of sound, and a top cruising speed of 1,354 mph, the Air France-British Airways supersonic Concorde used to fly the route in around 3 hours 30 minutes.
